Zailo.Com!

I haven't used my blog as a comic review site before. Mostly because there are plenty of sites out there that will give you a weekly dose of what's hot/ what's not. And that's not anything I am interested in doing. However, there is one book I cannot recommend highly enough. Unfortunately this book comes out on a less than a regular basis.
I am talking about PLANETARY. This title should appeal to both the literati-neveau comic reader, as well as diehard old school geeks who pine for the days of Lee and Kirby. Beware; Planetary is not a retro book by any means. But it is steeped in the days of classics. What I mean is that the people who say that they are tired of reading rehashings of the same old superhero cliches will love it. This is not exactly a superhero book but it does have superheroes in it. The people who have an affinity for the titles that they could read for decades and have a sense of status quo will pick up on the topics.
In the Planetary preview Warren Ellis absolutely strikes a chord while still remaining captivating. Even all the secondary characters besides the antagonist remind you of the secondary characters from the Hulk.
John Cassaday is no slouch either. I have been a fan since Desperadoes. Between the two of them they create a book that made me exclaim the first time I read it; "This is the kind of book I want to do!".
Every issue Ellis is doing what in old music terms would be a standard. At one time a standard was a song that everybody would cover. A song that you could hear in several different variations with each performer trying to put his or her little twist on it. This is exactly what Ellis is doing. In each story Warren Ellis deconstructs an archetype of pop culture. He breaks it into its elemental structure and then runs in a new direction with it.
He has tackled as I said the Hulk, pulp heroes, Hong Kong cinema, Capt. Marvel, Vertigo, Japanese giant monsters, even the first family of Marvel.
Do yourself a favor and read it. Just read it.

posted by zailo @ 11:16 AM

Friday, December 03, 2004